1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to yellow light emitting diodes (LEDs) and methods of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
(Note: This application references a number of different publications as indicated throughout the specification by one or more reference numbers within brackets, e.g., [x]. A list of these different publications ordered according to these reference numbers can be found below in the section entitled “References.” Each of these publications is incorporated by reference herein.)
Current nitride technology for electronic and optoelectronic devices employs nitride films grown along the polar c-direction. However, conventional c-plane quantum well (QW) structures in III-nitride based optoelectronic and electronic devices suffer from the undesirable quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE), due to the existence of strong piezoelectric and spontaneous polarizations. The strong built-in electric fields along the c-direction cause spatial separation of electrons and holes that in turn give rise to restricted carrier recombination efficiency, reduced oscillator strength, and red-shifted emission.
One approach to eliminating the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization effects in GaN optoelectronic devices is to grow the devices on nonpolar planes of the crystal. Such planes contain equal numbers of Ga and N atoms and are charge-neutral. Furthermore, subsequent nonpolar layers are crystallographically equivalent to one another so the crystal will not be polarized along the growth direction. Two such families of symmetry-equivalent nonpolar planes in GaN are the {11-20} family, known collectively as a-planes, and the {1-100} family, known collectively as m-planes. Unfortunately, despite advances made by researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), growth of nonpolar nitrides remains challenging and has not yet been widely adopted in the III-nitride industry.
Another approach to reducing, or possibly eliminating, the polarization effects in GaN optoelectronic devices, is to grow the devices on semipolar planes of the crystal. The term semipolar planes can be used to refer to a wide variety of planes that possess two nonzero h, i, or k Miller indices, and a nonzero/Miller index. Some commonly observed examples of semipolar planes in c-plane GaN heteroepitaxy include the {11-22}, {10-11}, and {10-13} planes, which are found in the facets of pits. These planes also happen to be the same planes that the authors have grown in the form of planar films. Other examples of semipolar planes in the wurtzite crystal structure include, but are not limited to, {10-12}, {20-21}, and {10-14} planes. The nitride crystal's polarization vector lies neither within such planes or normal to such planes, but rather lies at some angle inclined relative to the plane's surface normal. For example, the {10-11} and {10-13} planes are at 62.98° and 32.06° to the c-plane, respectively.
In addition to spontaneous polarization, the second form of polarization present in nitrides is piezoelectric polarization. This occurs when the material experiences a compressive or tensile strain, as can occur when (Al, In, Ga, B)N layers of dissimilar composition (and therefore different lattice constants) are grown in a nitride heterostructure. For example, a thin AlGaN layer on a GaN template will have in-plane tensile strain, and a thin InGaN layer on a GaN template will have in-plane compressive strain, both due to lattice mismatching to the GaN. Therefore, for an InGaN QW on GaN, the piezoelectric polarization will point in the opposite direction to the spontaneous polarization of the InGaN and GaN. For an AlGaN layer latticed matched to GaN, the piezoelectric polarization will point in the same direction as the spontaneous polarization of the AlGaN and GaN.
The advantage of using semipolar planes over c-plane nitrides is that the total polarization will be reduced. There may even be zero polarization for specific alloy compositions on specific planes. Such scenarios will be discussed in detail in future scientific papers. The important point is that the polarization will be reduced as compared to the polarization of c-plane nitride structures. A reduced polarization field allows growth of a thicker QW. Hence, higher Indium (In) composition and thus longer wavelength emission, can be achieved. Many efforts have been made in order to fabricate semipolar/nonpolar based nitride LEDs in longer wavelength emission regimes [1-6].
This disclosure describes an invention allowing for fabrication of blue, green, and yellow LEDs on semipolar (Al, In, Ga, B)N semiconductor crystals. Although longer wavelength emission from LEDs has been reported from AlInGaP material systems, there have been no successful developments of yellow LEDs emitting in the range of 560 nm-570 nm wavelength in both nitrides and phosphides.